Purchases ≥ $75,000
If you are making a purchase from a vendor and the cost of your purchase is greater than or equal to our Bid Threshold of $75k, there are key things to consider before you begin the purchase. If the good or service is not available in BuckeyeBuy and is not covered by a university‑wide contract, and the purchase price meets the limit, it is generally required to be considered for a bid. In most cases, this means completing a competitive bid, a formal, transparent process in which multiple vendors submit proposals to provide goods or services based on defined requirements. To begin the process for competitive bid, contact your service center . They will walk you through the process and may ask you to provide details about the goods or services needed and the criteria you are looking for in a vendor.
In some situations, a bid waiver or Board of Trustees Resolution Approval may be used.
- Bid Waivers allow for the Director of Purchasing to authorize the purchase of goods and/or services without competitive bidding when justified. Pursuant to the purchasing policy adopted by the Board of Trustees on November 17, 2022.
- Board of Trustees Resolutions allow the purchase of certain types of goods and/or services under pre-approved waivers that do not require competitive bidding. Competitive bidding may still be used when it is in the University’s best interest.
Reasons to Request a Bid Waiver/Board of Trustees Waiver
Depending on your purchase you may need to request a Bid Waiver or may be eligible to use a Board of Trustees Waiver. Both waiver requests are captured in Workday.
Bid Waiver
Competitive bidding may be waived in situations such as emergencies, when there is a valid economic or technical justification, or when the required good or service is available from only one supplier.
There are four reasons or ‘rationale’ that may be used to request a bid waiver: Sole Source, Emergency, Economic or Technical & Specialized Consulting Services. See each option below to learn more about when it may be appropriate.
Keep in mind that a bid waiver is typically not the preferred approach for making a purchase. Leveraging approved supplier contracts, shopping in BuckeyeBuy, or requesting a competitive bid (when appropriate) should be your first step whenever possible. Please note that the more information you provide in your bid waiver justification the smoother your bid waiver request will be processed. Tips have been listed below to help you write your justifications.
Sole Source
- Should be used when no other supplier can provide goods/services that meet the University’s requirements (unique design, performance, or specifications).
- In your waiver justification address: What is being purchased? Why is this supplier the only source (unique features of the product/service needed?) What unique features this supplier provides that meet the required needs? What did you use to search for/qualify alternative suppliers and why did no other suppliers meet the need?
- Example: A manufacturer has designated a single exclusive distributor for a region.
Emergency
- Use when goods/services are needed to correct or prevent an emergency health, environmental, or safety hazard; provide for the completion of special or time-sensitive events; and/or enable emergency repair/replacement of equipment essential for daily operations.
- In your waiver justification address: What is the good or service needed? Which emergency condition applies: emergency health, environmental or safety hazard? Why this purchase requires immediate action? Is this to correct, prevent or remedy emergency health, environmental, safety hazards or repair/replacement of existing equipment essential for daily operations?
- Example: During a snow storm, heat fails in a building and an urgent repair is required.
- Emergency waivers: Emergency rationale requests are the only waivers that are prioritized for processing.
Economic
- Use when selecting another supplier would create additional cost or harm (for example, incompatibility with existing conditions; significant additional training/time/money; impact to ongoing long-term projects).
- In your waiver justification address: What are you purchasing and why is it needed? What additional expenses would result if you do not purchase from this supplier? What is the financial/operational impact? If you have additional quotes from other suppliers, include them as this will help expedite your request.
- Example: Updating an existing system where switching brands would force the purchase of additional integrated equipment.
Technical & Specialized Consulting Services
- Use for technical and specialized consulting services that are temporary in nature and supported by sufficient economic reasons and terms/conditions in the best interest of the University. The President and/or Senior Vice President for Business and Finance, or his/her designee, may grant a Waiver of Competitive Bidding when he/she determines that services to be purchased are technical and specialized consulting services that are temporary in nature and there are sufficient economic reasons to support such a waiver and where such terms and conditions as are in the best interest of the University. The exercise of this authority shall be subject to the oversight authority of the Senior Vice President for Business and Finance.
- If waiver amount is over $250,000: President’s Cabinet approval is required.
- In your justification, include: What is the term/duration? Note this must be temporary in nature and cannot be ongoing. Why is the need specialized? What is the scope of work? What is the pricing/total cost (including discounts) for the service? Include pricing solicited from at least two other competitors for similar expertise and scope. Provide the funding source that will be used to fund the services.
- Requisitions using the spend category of Professional Services – Management Consulting (SC10543) must use this rationale.
If, after reviewing the bid waiver reasons above, you’d like to proceed, see the “Getting Started”section below outlining next steps.
Board of Trustees Resolutions
The categories below have been deemed acceptable to purchase without the need for a competitive bid. When completing the bid waiver attributes for Board of Trustees Resolutions select the appropriate category.
| Category | Example Purchase |
|---|---|
| BOTR 5 Fine Art | Paintings, sculptures, or unique artistic or decorative works |
| BOTR 7 Performers and Artist | Musicians, speakers, performers, and artistic talent |
| BOTR 8 Ohio Supercomputing Equipment | Servers and related equipment |
| BOTR 10 University Libraries' Collections | Journals, books, electronic publications for University Libraries |
| BOTR 14 Blood and Organs for Transplantations | Donated blood and organs |
| BOTR 17 Enterprise -wide Software Applications | Financial ERP systems, Human Resource or Student information systems |
| BOTR 18 Real Estate Lease Agreements | Space or building lease agreeements |
| BOTR 19 Municipal Utility Services | Electricity, gas, water, telecommunications, regulated services |
| BOTR 20 WOSU Public Media | PBS/NPR-exclusive programming, services, and related products for WOSU |
| BOTR 21 Student Exchange Programs | Study abroad programs with other institutions of higher education |
| BOTR 22 Physician Services | Diagnostic and treatment services |
| BOTR 23 Pharmaceuticals | Pharmaceutical products used in research or patient care |
| BOTR 24 Financial Services | Financial consulting services, banking, brokerage, leasing, asset financing, and related financial services |
| BOTR 26 Medical Research Trials- equipment, materials/supplies | Medical research equipment, materials, supplies |
| BOTR 27 Resale in hospital gift shops | Gift shop merchandise |
| BOTR 28 Non-for-profit organizations | Human services purchases |
| BOTR 29 Patient care equipment | Equipment used for patient care in OSU medical facilities. |
Getting Started
- Confirm the purchase is $75,000+ with a single supplier
- Confirm there is no university-wide contract, a consortia agreement, or BuckeyeBuy supplier that already provides the good or service you need (as those are excluded from this waiver requirement).
- University Employees: Create/prepare a Create a requisition to Procure Goods and Services. OSUHS Employees: Should continue to work with their Medical Center Supply Chain team on all bid waiver needs.
- Partner with your Service Center and Finance teams to complete information about the Bid Waiver in Workday.
- Submit the request; allow at least one week for processing once documentation is complete. Please note: Emergency rationale requests are the only waivers that are prioritized for processing.
Documentation
Purchasing requires the following to process a Request for Waiver of Competitive Bidding:
- Requisition to procure the goods or service.
- Itemize the requisition to match the quote. If the quote has multiple line items, the requisition should too (see “Line-item exceptions” in FAQ).
- A Bid Waiver requisition type for most purchases.
- Requisition total must match the total on your quote.
- Completed waiver request attributes in Workday (must be done after requisiton is in draft status or submitted.) (Select exactly one rationale: Sole Source, Emergency, Economic, or Technical & Specialized Consulting Services).
- Complete every field on the waiver request.
- Detailed justification written by the unit that explains why the purchase is needed. See the ‘Reasons to Request a Bid Waiver’ above to learn what to include in your justification letter. Do not include letters by the supplier, the justification should be done by an OSU employee.
- Supplier quote/pricing (and, if applicable, additional documentation such as supplier terms and conditions, statement of work, etc.).
Roles and Responsibilities
| Role | Responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Requisition Initiator | Identifies the need for a bid waiver. Provides contact information and justification to their Cost Center Manager and Service Centers to provide justifications needed for bid waiver requests. Has the ability to edit the bid waiver data in Workday. |
| Cost Center Manager | Should review that the requesters’ reasoning for the bid waiver is sound and should complete or ensure completion of basic bid waiver data in Workday. Has the ability to edit the bid waiver data in Workday. |
| Business/Grants Operations Service Center Lead | Reviews the request and ensures the bid waiver data is completed. May need to partner with the requisition initiator or the Cost Center Manager to complete any missing details. Submits any necessary agreements once the waiver has been approved. Has the ability to edit the bid waiver data in Workday. |
| Buyer | Reviews the waiver for appropriateness and ensures all fields are documented properly. Determines if a waiver is appropriate. Has the ability to edit the bid waiver data in Workday. |
| Senior Fiscal Officer | Approves the requisition associated with a bid waiver. |
| Director of Purchasing | Reviews the requisition and ensures it is appropriate. |
Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) Funded Purchases
- Additional form requirement: As of January 2021, OSP-funded purchases over the thresholds also require the University Request for Bid Waiver form to be completed.
- OSP procurement thresholds: OSP has additional procurement thresholds. Any purchases in greater than or equal to $75,000 from a non contracted supplier require a bid waiver, however, in some cases there purchases below those thresholds that require bid waivers. These are:
- Purchases for a federally owned or leased public building that is under GSA control and affects space use, building designation, furnishings, or building‑wide operations. (Construction)
- Service contracts, performed in the U.S. that are over the threshold
- See the OSP Procurement Page for more information.
- Sole source documentation: For OSP-funded sole source waivers, you will also need to include the OSP Request for Sole Source form.
Frequently Asked Question
How do I add funds to a purchase order that was processed as a bid waiver? Do I need a new waiver?
Yes. A new waiver request should be completed in Workday. See the Bid Waiver Instructions for how to add funds.
Who is involved in bid waiver processing, and how long does it take?
After your service center lead approves the requisition it will route to Purchasing. Approvals include the Category Approver, Buyer, SFO and Director of Purchasing.. Plan for at least one week before a PO can be issued once documentation is complete, and 1–2 additional days for waivers above $1,000,000 (additional approval from Business and Finance is required.)
How are supplier terms and conditions reviewed?
If the purchase is under $1,000,000, supplier terms and conditions are submitted to OnBase agreements through a service center representative. If the purchase is over $1,000,000, the department should submit them to the Legal portal after the terms have been reviewed, redlined, and agreed upon by the supplier.
I have a single waiver that will be covering multiple purchase orders. How should I fill out the waiver? Is there any additional information required?
See the Bid Waiver Instructions for more information.
What documents/amounts are required for a waiver on a multiyear agreement?
See the Bid Waiver Instructions for more information.
My requisition has many line items—do I need to itemize every line?
Usually yes. In some cases, you can ask the supplier for an updated quote that invoices on a single line. Some purchases (for example, furniture or scientific equipment) should always be itemized.
Who can I contact with questions?
Email: BF-PRSM-OSUPUR@osu.edu. You can also look up the relevant Buyer in the Spend Category Assignments Excel file on the Purchasing website under “Our Team.”